The Plains of Jars, situated in the Xieng Khouang Plateau in northern laos, is a large region comprising thousands of giant ancient stone jars varying from one to three metres in height and weighing up to six tonnes. Clusters of up to 300 jars have been found.

The origins of the jars are unknown, though archaeologists speculate that they may have been made by megalithic Austronesian people, and may have been burial urns dating back 2000 years ago

The area was heavily bombed during the Second IndoChina War, and unexploded ordnance can still be found in the region.

The Plains of Jars is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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By Air
The Plains are accessible from both Vientiane and Luang Prabang

By Road
The jars start about 4.5km from Phonsavan, and extends as far as Lat Sene, 30km to the south.

Last edited on Feb 26, 09 11:39 PM.
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Anne G.

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Anne G.

Oct 24, 2008

This area of Laos still felt like the wild west when I was there. We had to take a plane because there were still bandits on the roads (or so we were told), the brakes on the plane barely worked. But, there were few tourists and the area is fascinating. The jars are in areas filled with unexploded cluster bombs so stay on trail!

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Thai Pinoy P.

Dec 17, 2009

Enigmatic but a bit boring once you see the jars. The Plains of Jars have 3 sites (you only need to visit 1 to feed your curiosity). Some jars have been damaged in the Indochina war, with some jar sites, even now, still have bomb craters.

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